


Desert Nights

by Serb



Category: Les Dalton | The Daltons (Cartoon), Les Nouvelles Aventures de Lucky Luke | The New Adventures of Lucky Luke (Cartoon), Lucky Luke (Bande Dessinée)
Genre: Based on the animated series, F/M, Miss Betty strikes a deal with the Dalton brothers and both sides enjoy it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:22:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29568153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serb/pseuds/Serb
Summary: It is not easy being a pretty lady in a penitentiary far away from civilization. Torn between keeping herself composed and giving in to baser instincts, Miss Betty is caged by society's expectations of behaving like a lady. That is, until she catches the Daltons making an escape attempt, which is when she offers a them an indecent proposal that is difficult to refuse...
Relationships: Miss Betty/Averell Dalton, Miss Betty/Jack Dalton, Miss Betty/Joe Dalton, Miss Betty/William Dalton
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Desert Nights

** Desert Nights **

_Author’s Note: Growing up, I was at one point a fan of Lucky Luke comics, with the Daltons being my favourite characters. I especially enjoyed the ones that featured them as the main villains, so imagine my pleasant surprise when I recently discovered that cartoon series was made about them in 2010 (plus with an addictive theme song). I binge-watched the episodes during quarantine and I enjoyed them more than I expected. I think it is awesome that the show fleshed-out each of the brothers’ personalities, with Jack being the practical one and William being a bookworm. In the comics, I never really cared much about the middle brothers, as Joe and Averell were the stars, but with in animated series William and Averell became my definite favourites (though Jack and Joe are really fun as well). Observing their behaviour around Miss Betty, I was inspired to write this fic, which I tried to write in the humorous style of an episode (except raunchier, of course). Hope you enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. They are the creations of Morris and Goscinny, as well as Xilam Animation.**

Miss Betty was a pretty lady. At least she considered it to be so, with all the prison inmates furtively glancing at her wherever she passed. But then again, she was the sole female creature they would meet in a penitentiary in the middle of the desert, miles away from civilization. She felt herself to be a breath of fresh air, fashionably dressed in her wine-red skirt and matching vest amid the surroundings that consisted of colours such as brown, grey, and black and yellow stripes. Every day she could smell the heat, the pale scent of laundry and the sweat of men working under the desert sun.

Living such surroundings was bound to get to her head, and as of late she continued feeling the sun’s warmth and the masculine smell in the air even when she went to bed in the evening. Miss Betty felt a longing, almost instinctual, after being surrounded by desperate roughened men for months at a time. She did understand it was natural, yet even though she felt their desire and her own grow as well, the irony was that she was not allowed to give in to such urges. Especially in a place such as this one.

Miss Betty was an educator, a role model that inspired everyone to be on their best behaviour and persuade them to turn a page into becoming better people. Aside from her professional conduct, engaging in any amorous relations with an inmate was not only illegal, but dangerous as well. She did not dare risk her job or well-being by giving into temptation, no matter how strong her urges grew. Though they were getting more and more difficult to manage.

One afternoon she caught almost all the men in the penitentiary, both guard and inmate, drooling over some mass-printed poster paintings of saloon girls. This turned out to be part of a rouse by none other than the Daltons, whose bright escape plan of the day was to disperse such pictures so as to distract every man while they would sneak up to the entrance gate and escape. They forgot that such a distraction would not work on her. She caught them red-handed as Joe Dalton was picking the locks of the gate, a lascivious pamphlet clutched firmly in her left hand, while she yelled and shook her right fist at them. The brothers immediately ceased what they were doing, for they never saw the amiable Miss Betty so angry. She was furious: at them trying to pull such a disgusting plan, and at her own frustration of not being able to give in to her own desires. Sometimes she truly despised having to uphold the image of chastity, which was expected of decent ladies like her, while men were more than free to be themselves.

It did not sit right with her for days. Miss Betty became quiet and moody, which everyone noticed. She stopped her cheerful chats with the guards and only spoke to the inmates when she requested something from them. Mr. Peabody grew concerned and asked if he could help to cheer her up by granting her a vacation, to which she curtly replied she did not need any.

On the fourth day after that incident, Miss Betty went early to bed that evening. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, yet she still felt a familiar heat clutching the back of her neck and spreading down her spine. She shifted several times, and finally opened her eyes to look at the clock on the wall. Midnight. Had she really not been able to sleep for the past three hours?

She let out a frustrated huff and buried her head into the pillow. She had to fall asleep, tomorrow she had to arrange the ceramics workshop, she had to, she had to –

She heard a small creak of the wooden floorboards outside her room and a click of her doorknob turning. Someone was there! Miss Betty already had a vague of idea of who it might be, and as it was already too late for her to move, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

She heard a pair of footsteps – no, two – or maybe it was three? Four pairs. She knew exactly to whom they belonged. A renewed anger began to build up inside of her.

“You check her wardrobe, and you her bedside table,” she heard Joe Dalton hiss in a hushed tone, “Averell, leave those dead flowers!”

“Aww, but Joe they smell so good,” whined Averell loudly, very near her head, “And they taste real nice too!”

“I’m gonna shove them all down your throat if you don’t shut up!”

“That’s enough!” yelled Miss Betty in the darkness. She grabbed the oil lamp next to her bed, and lit it, while she heard scuffles around her room.

As the light illuminated the bedroom, she saw the tall and lanky Averell balancing her bowl of potpourri on his head, pretending to be a lamp or a table. Miss Betty sighed and walked over to her wardrobe. Upon opening it, a confused William tumbled out onto the floor, wrapped up in one of her red dresses and a yellow shawl. She checked under the bed, and sure enough found Jack curled up in the darkness. When she pulled back a curtain, she found Joe crouching behind it.

“What are you all doing here?” she demanded as she lined up the brothers.

There was a guilty silence for a few seconds until Joe suddenly spoke up, “Oh Miss Betty, we’re doing a new approved initiative where we are trying to get rid of cockroaches. You know those little critters always come out at night.”

“Really?!” yelped Averell, almost throwing the bowl that he was still keeping on his head off balance.

“Yes, really,” repeated Joe, annoyance creeping into his voice, “and we wouldn’t want them crawling over your pretty face while you sleep Miss Betty.”

Was this real? Miss Betty distrusted them but was considering to believe that this indeed could have been an actual initiative.

“We have to make sure they are removed everywhere,” William chimed in, “since they like to hide in dark crevices like drawers and holes.”

“But your bedroom seems to be in the clear!” added Jack.

Averell breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Phew! And I thought we were here to get the key!”

The other three brothers glared at him while Miss Betty’s eyes narrowed.

“That’s it!” she exclaimed, “I’m taking you all to Mr. Peabody’s office right now!”

And just as she was about to yell for the guard, the four Daltons dropped to her knees and begged her to show mercy.

“Please Miss Betty, I’ll end up in the hole for another month!”

“They’ll take away our privileges!”

“I won’t be able to read any books!”

“They won’t give me anymore soap to eat!” wailed Averell.

Miss Betty looked down at them, so docile and large-eyed. Not at all like hardened criminals. From this standpoint, they looked kind of cute…

No, she needed to stop that! This was not the time to delve into a fantasy that she allowed herself on a rare occasion when she was alone in her bathtub and surrounded by delicate bubbles.

Joe, ever the opportunist, seemed to sense her hesitation and said, “Is there anything we can do for you Miss Betty? Really, just name it!”

Realising that his brother was onto something, Jack joined in with a bright smile, “We will do anything you ask for!”

“And we won’t tell a soul!” said William, wearing an identical grin, “Your secret is safe with us, upon our honour!”

“We like you Miss Betty! Just the way you like us!” exclaimed Averell in all his innocence.

Averell’s words were what pushed her over the edge. Miss Betty bit her lower lip, suddenly aware that she was standing there wearing only her lilac nightgown, without even a dressing gown to protect her modesty.

She cleared her throat and began hesitantly, “Well boys, since you put it that way… I have not been quite myself lately and I think I want to try something that I feel might compromise my honour. Since my instincts seem to override my reason, I might need to ask you to help resolve my problem through your… services.”

The Daltons looked confused, with William, the most well-read one, pondering what she might have meant. Miss Betty realised that she needed to be clearer, so drew in a nervous breath.

“I am a lonely woman, and I haven’t yet met a man who might satisfy my… desires. As I fear that I will never have the opportunity to find the right man given the career I am in, I will ask if any of you could help me enjoy this night, or any night in fact. Provided that you will uphold your discretion, of course.”

There, she said it as delicately as possible.

A few seconds passed, as they were just processing what she told them. Then suddenly William blushed, then Jack, and then Joe. Then a sly grin spread on Joe’s face, then on his other two brothers. Averell was the only one who remined completely unfazed, and out of boredom started picking at the dried flowers in the bowl of potpourri in his hand.

“Why of course Miss Betty, and which one of us would have the pleasure to help you?” asked Joe slickly, puffing out his chest as if he expected her to choose him.

Good question. They looked pretty much identical, save for the height difference. Whom would she choose?

Miss Betty suddenly felt her inherited roguish side building up inside her, and a greed swam up to form the words in her mouth before she could stop herself.

“I was thinking if all of you could help!” she blurted out.

The three brothers’ mouths opened in shock, and Joe’s hand suddenly groped the front of their striped shirts.

“Just a moment please.” He muttered and yanked his siblings into a huddle.

They murmured excitedly for a minute, while Averell stood outside chewing absent-mindedly at the potpourri. Joe’s arm stretched out from the group and he yanked Averell into the huddle so that the youngest could listen to what they were saying. Miss Betty sat down on the bed, overhearing a gasp of shock and giggle from Averell, and occasionally words such as ‘opportunity’ and ‘escape’ from Joe.

Miss Betty was already starting to feel the flush of shame creeping up her face and a pit of regret opening up in her stomach. What had she proposed? She was risking her reputation and exposing her vulnerabilities to a group of criminals. They could easily take advantage of her, or hurt her, or kill –

“So, how shall we do this, Miss Betty?”

Joe’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked at the Daltons who finished their discussion. Joe wore a smirk, Jack rose an eyebrow, William winked, and Averell had a genuine grin.

“W-well, I wasn’t thinking all at once!” stammered Miss Betty, suddenly all flustered.

“Of course not, you’re not a saloon girl! You’re better off starting with the one who has the most experience, who can be a real man to you, and that would be moi!” bragged Joe.

“Ah well.. if you say so… I would really like him to be kind and gentle with me…”

“Kind, patient, gentle, sweet, I can even give you flowers baby! You ain’t gonna regret going with me first!”

His brothers did not seem to agree.

“But Joe, wouldn’t she prefer someone who cares about what women like?” jabbed William.

“Or someone who won’t blow his gasket?” asked Jack, his expression turning sour.

A ringing slap echoed in the room, and the two middle brothers stood rubbing their reddening cheeks.

“I’m the oldest so it makes sense that I know the most in pleasing a woman!” growled Joe, “Now the rest of you, out!”

When the three reluctantly shuffled out, Joe turned to Miss Betty with a much calmer composure.

“It’s just you and me, baby!”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Sorry, Miss Betty.”

He stood before her and took one of her hands with a surprising gentleness, pulling her down to sit on the bed beside him.

“I know I may seem like a real intimidating guy out there, but inside I’m a real softie.”

She decided not to mention that she never really found him intimidating, so she nodded instead. Without warning, he kissed her. She yelped and by instinct slapped him and he back off.

“Sorry, force of habit.” She said sheepishly.

Joe smirked, “I like ‘em fiery, Miss Betty.”

This time, he pulled her towards him and kissed her again more passionately. Miss Betty felt herself swooning. She always felt the two of them would understand each other, both of their tempers capable of being flammable. Interestingly enough, he seemed too shy to try pulling off her nightgown, so she did it instead.

Laying on her back, with him leaning above her, he paused and said, “Will this be your first time?”

“Well not exactly…” she said hesitantly, feeling suddenly very ashamed of her ill behaviour, and in front of a criminal, no less, “I only had it once and it was long ago, with man whom I loved but he passed away.”

Joe looked relived, and claimed, “Even better! So you can fully enjoy this!”

“Wait!”

“What is it? Are you hurt? I didn’t even start anything!”

Miss Betty flung her bathrobe on and ran out of the bedroom and into the living room where she kept her medical supplies. The other brothers were there playing cards, and they stopped their game when they saw her rummaging through the boxes.

“Did you finish already?” asked Averell innocently.

“Where is it, where is it, aha!” exclaimed Miss Betty, taking out a medical supply box and opening it.

The others leaned over to see what it was.

“Is that what I think it is?” asked Jack, displeasure crossing his face.

“I heard they are starting to be mass produced and supplied to the army and even penitentiaries.” said William, also looking sceptical.

“Is it gum?” asked Averell.

Miss Betty went back to her bedroom and held it up for Joe.

“It’s a condom!” she exclaimed, “And I need you to use it!”

“That thing? No way!”

“If you don’t, we can call this whole thing off and I’m going straight to the guards!” threatened Miss Betty.

“All right! All right!” grumbled Joe, snatching it from her.

Miss Betty found herself on her back again, and the eldest Dalton leaning over her.

“Get ready for the time of your life!”

And then she felt it. Oh, she did. It had been a while, and she forgot how it felt like. Miss Betty could feel herself heating up and she looked up at her lover, who was in a euphoric world of his own, judging by the glazed expression and random shouts of being the king of the world. He was so hot-tempered, just like herself, and Miss Betty’s fondness for him grew with each thrust. She put her hand up to his face and pulled his head down to kiss him.

The moment his lips touched, she suddenly felt him shudder, release a grunt, and go limp. Her eyes sprang open and saw the criminal totally collapsed against her bosom, utterly spent.

Hmm. Sooner than she expected. And she was just getting the hang of it.

He lifted his head, completely satisfied and ready to brag about the session, but his expression quickly turned to that of embarrassment when he saw his partner was still alert and expectant.

“It’s – it’s –“ he stammered, until he finished in defeat, “It’s been a while.”

Miss Betty felt sorry for him and decided to be a good sport.

“Not to worry Joe, I completely understand! It is late after all, and you need a good night’s rest!”

“Yeah… some rest...” he muttered as he stumbled out of the bedroom pulling up his trousers.

Miss Betty heard the other Dalton brothers excitedly questioning their oldest sibling in the living room, while she slid her bathrobe back on and smoothed her hair in front of her mirror. She felt a pang of disappointment deep inside her, for she had been quite certain that engaging with the bombastic one would have done the trick.

They were desperate men after all and hadn’t the opportunity to enjoy carnal pleasures in a while. She had expected too much from them, and Miss Betty came to the conclusion that she would need to call the whole thing off. She still had the gnawing guilt for using them and her unbecoming behaviour was quite unladylike.

A quick knock on her open door and Jack appeared in the mirror’s reflection.

“May I be of some help this evening, Miss Betty?” he asked in his familiar raspy voice.

She turned to him and said in a forced cheerful voice, “Oh I think I’ll be fine Jack, you may go back to your cell now, we should be all getting some sleep right now.”

He didn’t seem convinced, and then with small smirk he sauntered over to where she was sitting and gently squeezed her shoulder. She gazed up at him from her seated position and once again felt the warmth burn anew in her belly.

“You sure you’ll be able to sleep, Miss Betty?” he asked, fully aware of his power over her, “It seems that your time with Joe was cut a bit short.”

Oh, she wanted to agree, so very badly. But she needed to try remaining a lady, as calm and unlustful as a decent woman should be.

“I can help you fall asleep, taking it nice and slow, just the way you like it.”

Ladylike be damned. Her needs had not been fulfilled, and she needed to be more decisive if she was going to ask favours from the brothers in exchange for being in her good graces.

Sensing her turmoil, Jack smirked, leaned down to her ear and added, “I wouldn’t mind wearing it, if it makes you feel more comfortable Miss Betty.”

Her inner turmoil vanished.

“Close the door.” Was all she said.

It seemed almost the next moment she was in bed with him, kissing passionately. This was more like it! He was kissing her neck and she arched her back, is hands went down to her hips, and he started to turn her around –

“What do you think you’re doing?!” she snapped.

Jack froze and said, “But many girls like it this way! Wouldn’t you want something different?”

“And for you to mount me like a stallion on a mare? Out of the question!” she hissed like an angry cat,” This will do!”

They were sideways, with him pressing at her back. He gingerly lifted her leg and guided himself in. Miss Betty was surprised at the different sensation but not displeased. It was intimate in a different sort of way, with his bare chest rubbing against her spine and warm breaths on her ear. She relaxed and moaned softly as her lowered his head down to her neck and his thin moustache tickled the skin.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed it. Oh, so nice... she even let him pull her face towards him and kiss her. The thrusts were slow as promised and she could feel a delicious pressure building up, rising and rising… as if hitting a barrier, she felt herself still in the rising level but not quite getting there. It was an enjoyable torture, but a torture nonetheless. Almost as if she needed just to touch herself down there to finish it – but no, that would make her seem too wanton. This was as good as any woman could hope for, especially since it was men who call the shots when it came to lovemaking and women were the pliant ones.

They went for a while until Jack too needed to finish. He pressed his forehead into her back and let out a hiss through his teeth.

Miss Betty was satisfied for the evening, and even gave him an additional kiss before they untangled themselves. As Jack walked confidently back to the living room, Miss Betty came with him to announce that the remaining two brothers were not required for the night. William and Averell shot jealous glares at Jack, who picked at his nails leisurely. Joe, who had not said a word since Jack went to Miss Betty’s bedroom looked absolutely livid.

Miss Betty made sure that they snuck back into their cells by looking out of her window. Once she saw a light appear in their cell, she trudged over to her bed and collapsed on it. She didn’t have the time to think about what happened in the space of the last two hours as sleep engulfed her.

For the next two days Miss Betty seemed to be back to her usual self. She chatted with the guards, gave words of encouragement and friendly remarks to the inmates, that even Mr. Peabody seemed relieved that they had to old Miss Betty back.

“What is your secret?” asked Mr. Peabody in a jovial attitude reserved only for her, “Whatever method you have used, please repeat it whenever you are not feeling yourself. The penitentiary has suffered much without your enthusiasm and positivity.”

Miss Betty fought the blush that was forming on her cheeks, “Oh it was just some exercise before going to bed. You know, once I was all tired out, I felt better.”

Mr. Peabody nodded sagely, “Ah yes, it is an old method that even the Ancient Greeks spoke about. It is a pity that more of us don’t apply it, getting the blood pumping is what keeps us fresh!”

“Exactly as you say!” exclaimed Miss Betty, secretly wishing that she could divert to another topic. They were taking a stroll around the prison yard, where the inmates were stuck doing their usual mind-numbing routine of hitting rocks with pickaxes, and she spied that the Daltons were in the vicinity. They seemed to be preoccupied with hitting their own assigned rocks that they did not notice the two passing by them.

Miss Betty almost breathed a sigh of relief, when Mr. Peabody loudly mentioned, “If only we could make the prisoners practice physical exercise before bedtime, we’d have less escape attempts. And you could hold the evening class, Miss Betty.”

At the mention of ‘exercise’, ‘escape’ and ‘Miss Betty’, Joe’s ears pricked up and he stopped what his was doing to listen to the conversation. His two younger brothers followed suit, while Averell, stuck in his own world, continued pounding with his pickaxe. William stopped him by pulling at his sleeve, and Miss Betty became painfully aware of how she and her employer were being watched.

Mr. Peabody noticed this as well, but he saw an opportunity to lecture them, “Ah, the Daltons, you might listen to some of this if you know what’s good for you.”

“Mr. Peabody, what do we know of escaping that involves Miss Betty?” asked Joe with false innocence, yet Miss Betty could detect a hint of threat in his voice.

“You would do very well if you followed in Miss Betty’s stead, Joe Dalton,” preached Mr Peabody, “our prison educator has created for herself an excellent exercise regimen that brought her peace of mind, perhaps if you and your brothers employed it we would expect less trouble in the penitentiary.”

“An exercise regimen, huh?” asked Joe, a wicked grin spreading on his face that his siblings seemed to mirror, “Oh do tell, Miss Betty. We could use with some tutoring for building up our stamina. I’m sure it’ll all help us unwind at the end of the day.”

Miss Betty felt her fury well up and said before she could stop herself, “I appreciate that none of you have bothered me the last few days. I was so tired that I would not have wanted any unexpected visitors coming to my quarters for any reason, and I’m happy that I haven’t heard about any escape attempts on your side, Joe.”

That wiped the smirks off their faces. Without a word, they went back to work, and Mr. Peabody did not suspect a thing.

Another day passed, and any satisfaction she felt had by then completely worn off. It was replaced by an even stronger hungry desire, and it frustrated her to no end. Hadn’t she slaked her thirst only a few days ago? She did not want to bring herself into more compromising positions and supply the Daltons with more blackmail against her.

Under the shade of the prison school porch, Miss Betty looked at them. They were surprisingly compliant and had made no escape attempts since… well.

She was wary of the older two siblings. Joe was ruthless and cunning, the main driving force behind the criminal machine. Jack was silent but relied on by Joe, which made her wonder whether he was more similar to Joe than he let on.

Then there was William, glancing occasionally at an open book that was resting on a pile of stones as he picked on his one. He was always enthusiastic to see Miss Betty and, unlike the other inmates, actually studied so as to excel in her classes. If she had an itch to scratch, he’d be more than happy to fulfil her demands without an ulterior motive.

She had decided to approach him next. But he was always surrounded by his brothers, so giving him a discreet message that he would understand would have to do. She took her white handkerchief and wrote ’10:30’ on it. She folded it neatly into quarters and casually walked over to the Daltons.

“What are you reading, William?” she asked, picking up the book and flicking through the pages.

William looked a bit panicked while his brothers shot him worried glances.

“Oh! It’s just for the Chemistry class, Miss Betty!”

“Hmm, I see… we haven’t been covering plastic explosives as of yet, have we?”

“Indeed!” he continued, nervously picking at his striped collar, “It’s just that I have already read through all the previous pages and I like to be prepared for any lesson in advance!”

Miss Betty had to pretend to buy it. “It’s good to hear that my stellar pupil is still giving his one hundred percent!” she exclaimed, subtly placing the handkerchief between the pages as she closed the book. As she handed it back to him, she added with a winning smile, “I hope that you’ll continue giving your best in all your other classes.”

As she walked away, she noticed from the corner of her eye William flicking through the pages. At a safe distance, she observed his reaction. William looked confused as he found her handkerchief, but as he unfolded it and read the message, his face burst into an excited grin. Joe snatched the handkerchief from his brother’s hands and looked surprised. Then he made an angry comment while Jack peered over his shoulder. William snapped something back and pulled at the handkerchief, which escalated into a scuffle between him and Joe. Jack took it upon himself to part them, while Averell was happily observing a butterfly that fluttered by his face.

Was she responsible for all this? Both Joe and William seemed to harbour stronger affections for her than Jack and Averell, though they all were interested in her. What worried her even more was William’s fixation on the chapter about plastic explosives. Were they planning another escape attempt, despite promising otherwise?

Well, she would have to wait until tonight.

At exactly 10:30 was a rap at her door, and she opened it to find William with his hair neatly combed and an apple in his hand, no doubt having snuck it during lunch from the communal dining area.

“For you, Miss Betty!”

It was a lovely red apple, and she suddenly became very aware that they also shared a teacher-student relationship. It did not make her feel any better. Still, she graciously accepted it and let him into the living room before he could be spotted by a guard.

Rather than rushing him to her bedroom, Miss Betty felt that she should show some decency by offering him a cup of tea. William readily accepted, obvious in his anxious attempt to please. As they sipped the tea in armchairs, his confidence gradually returned and he relaxed more. Before moving to the bedroom, Miss Betty felt that there was something more pressing to address.

“William, I greatly admire your passion for reading, in that regard you are a role model to the other inmates,” she began, and he beamed at her words, “but I am concerned as to why you were reading a chapter on plastic explosives when we won’t be covering that, well, ever.”

“Like I said, Miss Betty,” he said quickly, gulping down the tea, “I like to read about everything. I like to learn.”

“I just hope this isn’t something Joe set you up for.”

“Oh no, Miss Betty, I am curious about how everything works,” he continued, and when he saw his cup was empty, William looked at up her and something seemed to click in his head. He smiled that sly smile only the Daltons seemed to have, “and I do mean everything.”

The heat returned to her skin with a vengeance. Miss Betty felt that she would quickly lose control of herself and the situation if she did not try to get it under control.

“That’s nice to hear, but surely you don’t know about everything.” She caught herself saying that, and it sounded more suggestive out loud than in her head.

That annoying trait of picking under fingernails, William was now doing it too. Did the Daltons instinctively have these habits or did they learn by observing each other?

“Why don’t you try me?” he asked with a newfound smugness.

Where was this cockiness coming from? Miss Betty could not decide whether she outraged or intrigued.

“Alright then, let’s see what you’ve got.” she said, standing up rigidly and walking over to the bedroom.

“Shall I bring this along?” asked William behind her.

She turned around and saw him suggestively hold the medicine box, knowing exactly their contents. She nodded wordlessly and marched off to the bedroom with him following close behind.

As she locked the door, she turned and saw him standing close to her, now with a more innocent excited expression on his face. “May I?”

She relaxed as he pulled her into a kiss, dipping her down. This sent a thrill through her, and she was vaguely reminded of the time of when the Daltons volunteered to be firefighters and William eagerly grasped at a straw doll resembling her to resuscitate it mouth-to-mouth. As the kiss made her bones feel like they were turning into jelly, she started to imagine herself as that doll.

He broke the kiss and blabbed excitedly, “I’ve been really wanting to do that for a while now, Miss Betty, and it is better than I ever imagined! I really wanna make you feel good, so know that you are in good hands when it comes to me!”

Miss Betty nodded dazedly and found herself back on her bed with her blouse unbuttoned and camisole exposed, as well as her skirt hiked up to her waist. He landed hot kisses all over her face, her neck, her chest, and they trailed down and down to –

Miss Betty yelped loudly and looked in shock down to where his face was. Terrified in her sudden change of composure, William froze and looked up at her with wide eyes.

“What are you doing, William?” she spluttered,” This is most unhygienic, where did you even come up with this…?”

“Aw, come on give me a chance Miss Betty!” pleaded William, “I swear it’ll make you feel good!”

For the split second she had felt his tongue, it did feel good. And she wanted him to repeat it, though she was not sure of whether she should allow him to continue doing that.

Was she not a modern woman? If he offered, why wouldn’t she accept? It was not as if she forced his head down to – oh no –

Seeing that she was relenting, William immediately took the opportunity to dive in. Her head hit the pillow and she found herself sweating and panting. It was exactly what she needed, and it was hitting all the right spots. Her pleasure rose and rose, and quickly reached that ceiling that had finally started to crack and when it did, she suddenly felt the full uncontrolled pleasure that almost drowned her.

The walls were ringing from an echo and her throat was achingly dry. As she came to her senses, she realised she had been screaming.

“Where did you-?” she rasped.

William raised his head with that smug smile on his face.

“Like I said, Miss Betty, I like to read,” he purred, his voice as smooth as butter.

The rest was all a blur. She let him scramble on top of her and seek his own pleasure (using protection, as guaranteed), and eventually found herself sitting on his lap and rocking back and forth as he eagerly kissed her bosom. At one point her pulled her close, and in the heat of tangled limbs, found his completion with a loud whimper.

Now that was a satisfying evening. It seemed the younger the brother, the better in bed. Miss Betty finally felt satiated as she slumped down on the bed with William next to her to catch their breaths. It would have been perfect, just to fall asleep then…

A pounding at the door snapped her out of her reverie. She leapt out of bed, flung William’s clothes back at him and slid on her dressing gown.

“Coming!” she shouted, while William behind her stifled a giggle.

Ignoring him, she quickly pattered over to the door and opened it to find the guardsman Pete, accompanied by the penitentiary dog Rintindumb.

“Good evening Pete, my, it is a beautiful night isn’t it?” she claimed, her usual cheeriness not skipping a beat.

Pete softly tapped the front of his cap at her in greeting, “Good evening Miss Betty, I just wanted to check up on you.”

“Why, whatever for?”

“I heard a scream from your quarters when I was passing by, so I wanted to make sure you’re alright.”

Miss Betty blushed before she could stop herself, “Oh that! Why, I was having a bad dream and I woke up.”

“I heard it more than once.”

“Well, I also saw a cockroach afterwards, and I hate those little critters. Did you know that they tend to come out at night?” she found herself parroting the same lame excuse the Daltons’ used.

“Indeed, there could be something worse than just cockroaches scurrying about the yard these nights.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“I saw something – or someone – moving in the yard below your window fifteen minutes ago. It was so dark, and when I ran over that shadow was gone!”

“Oh my!” exclaimed Miss Betty, pulling her dressing gown closer around her form.

“But not to worry Miss, I think you’ll be fine for tonight. I’ll keep a close watch near your door.”

“How very kind of you, but you needn’t neglect your usual patrol for little ol’ me. I’ll be fine until tomorrow.”

As they were talking, Rintindumb sniffed around and poked his large nose past Miss Betty and inhaled the air inside her living room. He looked particularly intrigued and wagged his tail enthusiastically.

“Whoa there boy,” said Pete, tugging back at his collar,” seems like Rintindumb is interested in something that you have.”

Of course! That dog spent a lot of his time following the Dalton brothers, and now that he could sense one of them in her rooms, he wanted to go in.

“I’m sure he wants some sugar, I tend to give him a treat now and then!” said Miss Betty, gently patting the canine on the head, “You already had a cube today, I don’t want to spoil you!”

At the sound of the word ‘sugar’ Rintindumb whined, which convinced Pete that this was all he was after.

“Come on Rintindumb, let’s give Miss Betty here her beauty sleep,” with a nod, Pete concluded his visit.

The moment she closed the door, Miss Betty rushed back to the bedroom, finding her window open and her bedsheets tied up into an escape rope. One end was anchored to her bedpost, though the other end had not been flung out yet, so her visitor must not have had the time to escape yet.

“William?” she called, looking under the bed.

The door of her wardrobe flung open and he emerged from a pile of clothes, this time with purple bonnet on his head and a green sundress sticking to his frame. Miss Betty had a feeling that he had a vague fascination for her clothes.

“It was Pete, he is gone now, but you need to get out of here as soon as possible!”

“Thank you, Miss Betty!” he said with a renewed enthusiasm, grabbing her hand, “I really had a wonderful time and really hope you liked it too – “

Despite setting her heart aflutter, she interrupted him for his sake, “Yes, yes, now you need to be careful when you are getting out of here, the guards are already suspicious that something’s going on.”

She pushed him towards the window and flung the bedsheets out of it. Not needing to be told twice, he hoisted himself out of the window and the grabbed the makeshift rope for support.

“Goodnight!” he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and slid down. Though he might have gone too fast, as there was a dull thud in the darkness and a soft ‘ow!’.

Those Daltons boys were some of the worst criminals in the west, but they sometimes behaved like children. Miss Betty shook her head and closed the window to keep out the evening chill that was brought on by desert nights. She made her bed, picked up the medicine box and brought it back to the living room. As she carried it, the box felt much lighter than she remembered. She looked inside. It was also emptier than she remembered. Condoms, iodine, plaster tape… what was missing were rubbing alcohol and surgical dressing.

She set the box down in its usual place and noticed that her sewing box was also open. The scissors were also missing.

Perhaps she displaced them? She frequently worked on her arts and crafts, so she often used the scissors which she forgot to return to her sewing box. Yes, that must have been it.

She pulled open a drawer which normally contained her box of matchsticks and candles. Completely empty.

Now she was certain something was wrong. She felt nervous and her stomach rumbled from hunger. She spied the red apple that William gave her, placed on her coffee table and reflecting the paraffin light off its smooth, shiny surface.

She took a bite and was pleasantly surprised by its sweet taste, although it did have a hint of bitterness in the skin. She ignored it and focused her thoughts on to a potentially more serious issue.

Why were all these things gone? Did they have something to do with plastic explosives? If they were stolen, how did William manage to smuggle all these away? He did not seem to be carrying anything on his person.

Miss Betty sunk into an armchair, suddenly overcome by tiredness. Too much excitement in one night, she could think about all this tomorrow. She might even go to Mr. Peabody and report everything that went missing, that chapter in William’s book and –

In less than a minute, she went out like a light.

The sound of an explosion tore through the air like thunder and jerked her awake. It seemed to Miss Betty that she dozed off for a minute, but her stiff neck said otherwise. She heard the shouts of a commotion outside and the scent of burnt cement wafted in through the cracks of her living room window. The apartment was very bright, which indicated that morning had already passed. She looked over to the grandfather clock and was shocked to see that it was past noon.

Miss Betty prided herself on being an early bird, and she could not believe that she slept soundly for almost twelve hours without budging. She could still taste that apple in her mouth, but by then it was an unpleasant mixture of bitter and sour.

She pulled herself up to her feet, and still feeling woozy, slowly walked over to the living room window, and opened it. Squinting in the bright light she looked out and her eyes went wide.

A chunk of the penitentiary wall was missing. It was completely blown off, seemingly by some powerful explosive, and the guards were clambering over the ruins in a heated chase after the perpetrators who were escaping.

A sheep. The Daltons played her for a sheep. Here she was thinking she had the situation under control, when they just saw it as an opportunity to rob her of anything that could be used for making explosives and also have some fun on the side. The bile rose in her throat and the betrayal burned in her mind. The dizziness had almost completely faded away, and she rushed to her bedroom to get dressed.

She joined Mr. Peabody and the guards in the yard a mere 15 minutes later, huffing while making long strides in her high heeled boots that made her height even more impressive.

“Where were you Miss Betty?” demanded Mr. Peabody with outrage, “You were gone all morning, you did not hold the school class and the Daltons have escaped yet again!”

“Not all of them sir!” yelled the guard Emmet from the other side of the ruined wall, “One got his leg stuck under the rubble! We’re pulling him out!”

“Not all hope is lost then,” said Mr. Peabody smugly, “the Daltons never leave one of them behind for too long. We can expect his brothers coming back for him soon enough.”

“Ow! It hurts!” whined a familiar voice, “Can I get some ice cream?”

Emmet dragged Averell back to the yard over the rubble by slinging Averell’s arm around his neck. Battered, bruised and scratched up, Averell noticed Miss Betty and gave her a weak wave.

“Hi Miss Betty! You sure ate a lot of that apple, we haven’t seen you the entire morning!”

“Apple? What apple? What is he talking about?” demanded Mr. Peabody.

“No idea,” said Miss Betty, realising that Averell needed to be removed before he spilled all the beans, “take him to the infirmary, I will check up on him after the nurse is finished.”

Check up on him and give him a piece of her mind. If she couldn’t get her hands on any of the other brothers who wronged her, the youngest one would feel her wrath.

She waited in front of the infirmary’s door for over an hour. When anyone asked her if she needed to be somewhere else, she just answered that addressing the prisoner who attempted to escape was her top priority. The staff found her resolve admirable, she found it necessary.

When the nurse finally came out and told her the patient was treated and in good spirits, Miss Betty stormed in, and saw Averell resting on the bed, with his foot bandaged but not in a plaster, his cuts patched up and merrily sipping on some sugary lemonade through a straw.

Even after being crushed by post-explosive rubble, he managed to escape with minimal damage and still feel happy. The Daltons were tough, but Averell Dalton was indestructible.

“Miss Betty!” he squealed, waving a bandaged hand.

“Hello Averell,” she said primly, pulling up a chair next to his bed.

“What seems to be the matter? You don’t look so happy.”

“Well Averell, how else should I feel knowing that you and your brothers stole my supplies and overall made a fool out of me?”

“I’m sorry we had to take your stuff Miss Betty, but my brothers did try to keep you happy. Joe even said it was a fair exchange!” claimed Averell in his utter naivety.

Miss Betty held herself back from slapping him, but she did burst out with a furious: “You boys thought you were really smart by taking turns with me and robbing me behind my back! There was absolutely nothing fair about this ‘exchange’ when I was not even aware of what you were planning!”

Averell’s eyes grew wide and there was tremble in his lower lip. Upon seeing his reaction, Miss Betty immediately calmed down. This was Averell she was talking to. Sweet, kind, not-so-bright Averell. He never did anything wrong to her. At least not on purpose. She often expressed her admiration for his artistic talents and genuine passion for always trying to do his best in any assignment that was given to him. Now she felt guilty for blowing up at him.

“I’m sorry Averell, it’s been such a busy day. I woke up late and have not been feeling myself since.”

“That shiny liquid could do that,” piped up Averell.

“What shiny liquid?”

“The one that Joe bought at the Indian fair two weeks ago from Fabulous Falcon. It only costs a dollar, yet it can knock out a horse in a minute!”

“But I never drank such a liquid!”

“If you ate that apple, then you did.”

A sleeping draught! The natives had a solution for everything.

“And William gave me that apple!” growled Miss Betty, her hands clenching into fists, “The nerve of him! And I thought he wouldn’t sink to that level!”

“Don’t blame William, Miss Betty, he didn’t know. All he wanted to do was to get you a nice present, and Joe put some of that liquid on the apple when Willian left it on his bed!”

Of course, Joe Dalton. The only brother who would be conniving enough to stoop so low. They already pulled a similar trick on her before by putting a sleeping draught in her drink so as to help her criminal sister steal her clothes and escape from prison. 

This sleeping draught was much stronger than the one from that time, and it left behind some side effects. By drugging her with it, the Daltons were able to buy enough time to prepare their escape, for once she noticed the missing items, she would have raised the alarm on them.

“How did he know I was going to eat it in the first place?”

Averell smiled dreamily and said as if repeating a phrase, “Joe said that a dame always gets an appetite once a man is done with her. I guess ladies behave like those praying mantis critters that William has been reading about.”

Miss Betty blinked.

“So how did William manage to get all the supplies?” she asked.

“Jack and I waited under your window when the clouds covered the moon, when it was really difficult to see. But your light was on, so we knew where to wait. Joe had a copy of the key to your apartment and got the candles and matchsticks while you were in the bedroom. Good thing Pete distracted you, because William got the bandages and rubbing alcohol from the medicine box and threw it down to us. And then William got away,” said Averell, proudly repeating a well-rehearsed plan that was probably told to him over and over again by his brothers.

“You almost got caught,” she reminded him.

“True, but since it was so dark, we managed to hide away behind the laundry store, and then when Pete left, we just followed the light of your room and waited under it again.”

Simple, yet so effective.

“Of course, rubbing alcohol, and those surgical dressings contain collodion which is used to make blasting gelatine… plastic explosives!” gasped Miss Betty in realization.

“Wow, Miss Betty, you said it just like William did when he was reading that book!”

“And the candles?”

“Ah we needed some light in our cell,” said Averell, and then added as an afterthought, “also stored the nitro-glycerine in some of them.”

Miss Betty lowered her head and sighed, “You boys played me for a fool. And I deserved it, what was I thinking when I asked for your…services.”

“Aw, cheer up Miss Betty,” said Averell gently, placing his hand on her shoulder, “my brothers won’t stay away for too long, they always come back for me. Then you can punish them as you like!”

Miss Betty stared back up at him, her blue eyes wet with tears. A small wobbly smile slowly returned to her face, and she let out a sigh of relief. Averell wiped a tear that escaped and rolled down her cheek, and he pulled her into a warm hug. Miss Betty immediately felt more relaxed, Averell was always so easy to get along with, and at that moment he was so warm and open…

“Your hair is real pretty, Miss Betty,” she heard him say, as he picked at the strands of strawberry blonde and examined them with fascination, “and so soft! No one in my family has hair like that.”

Miss Betty smiled into his hair and rubbed her cheek against his ear in response. He hugged her tighter.

Finally, she had to pull back, but she felt much better and with renewed amiable feelings towards him. Judging by his dreamy smile and half-closed eyes, she was certain he felt the same.

“I better get back and clean my quarters,” she said, “that explosion you boys made packed quite a punch. I’ll be cleaning the dust for days!”

“I can help Miss Betty, it’s the least I can do,” said Averell, pulling back his covers.

“There’s no need Averell, you will be assigned back to your cell soon enough.”

“But I’ll be all alone in there! There’s no Joe, Jack or William to keep me company!”

When Averell said that, he looked like a lost puppy. Miss Betty always had a soft spot for such expressions.

“Very well, you can come help me clean up. I’ll let the others know that you’ll be completing part of your punishment by doing so.”

A quick inspection by the nurse led him to being discharged almost immediately. While he did suffer from bruising and scratches, none of his bones were broken and no inmate was coddled unnecessarily in the penitentiary. If a prisoner could stand on his own two feet without keeling over, he was considered healthy enough to return to work.

When the two of them visited Mr. Peabody’s office and Miss Betty explained the situation to him, the director claimed that Averell belonged in isolation after causing such ruckus, but Miss Betty argued back that Averell would be far more useful helping to repair the damage and seeing for himself the result of his actions. Convinced by her argument, Mr. Peabody granted her the authority to use Averell’s services as she saw fit for cleaning up her quarters.

So that was it. For the remainder of the day until evening came, Averell swept, dusted, mopped and scrubbed every surface of her apartment that was covered by dust from the explosion, while Miss Betty rearranged all the fallen books back onto the bookshelves, went through her schedule for the following day and even managed to take a bath.

“All done, Miss Betty!”

True to his word, the quarters shone anew, cleaner and shinier than she ever managed to do so herself in all the time she had lived there. She was mightily impressed.

She noticed him scratching at a bruise on his arm and wincing, and once again felt sorry for him.

“Before you go Averell, take a seat,” she said, her maternal instincts kicking in, “I’ll get you some tea to drink and some cookies.”

“Thank you, I’m starving!” he said with pure happiness.

Truly, after suffering from an explosion, working for most of the day and barely having any time to eat, giving him a snack felt like the right thing to do.

She sat across from him in the same armchair she was in when receiving a visit from his older brother the previous night, only this time she was talking to Averell, who had no ulterior motives. He crammed as many sugar cubes as possible into his cup and gulped it up, finishing off by wolfing down the cookies (which were not the freshest, but he didn’t seem to mind). She poured him another cup, and he repeated the same process almost immediately.

“Do you have any lemonade?”

Miss Betty shook her head, “You can go to the infirmary tomorrow and ask for it. Tell them I sent you.”

A bigger smile appeared on his face and it was so infectious that it made her smile as well. It made her feel at even more ease with him, it was almost a pity when she reminded him to return to his cell.

“Do I have to?” he asked, nervously shifting in his chair, “It gets awfully dark down there, and I have no candles.”

“I’m afraid you will have to, Averell,” began Miss Betty, but then thought it would not cause much harm if she allowed him to stay a while longer, “but before you go, how about you tell me what I could do about my walls? I feel like this purple is really turning into a drab colour.”

Averell brightened up, and he looked around.

“Purple is not drab,” he concluded, “what you need to change are the stripes.”

“The stripes on the wall?”

“If they were thinner and of a lighter colour, it would really open up the room. Make them lilac instead of dark purple. Like that,” he said, pointing at her dressing gown that was draped over the fence of the staircase.

She glanced at it, and then at the wall.

“Averell, I think you’ve got it!”

“Sure I do, Miss Betty. And over here,” he stood up, and walked over to a corner, “you can have a grand piano!”

She stood up and walked over to him.

“That sounds wonderful, but I don’t know how to play.”

“Neither can I, but that would not stop me from having one! I’m sure you can make one of the inmates play for you, Jack can play hot cross buns all day long, because that’s the only tune he knows!”

Miss Betty stifled a giggle, though at the mention of his brothers she still felt a sting.

“You really are a special one, Averell,” she said, looking up at him, for he was one of the rare residents of the penitentiary who was taller than her, “you’re much nicer than your brothers.”

“That’s what Ma used to say about me, but Joe said it was because I ate too many bars of soap as a baby, so I’m all soppy on the inside.”

“He’s so vile to you! And your other brothers don’t help you much either.”

“Aw, Joe can be a bit rough on the edges, but he loves me, and so do Jack and William. Joe and I used to be very close when we was kids.”

Miss Betty felt her admiration for Averell Dalton grow, though he was starting to get sentimental.

“But what if they don’t come back for me?” continued Averell, worry and self-doubt rearing their ugly heads, “Joe wanted to escape so bad, and he blamed me for holding them back! They might just give up on me!”

“Now, now, Averell, this is all just foolish talk! Like you said, your brothers care for you and they will come back for you soon enough!”

“I hope so too Miss Betty. I haven’t gone anyone here to keep me company, and I’ll have to sleep in that cell all alone!”

Miss Betty felt her heart go out for him, and she grabbed his hand.

“You will not be alone!” she insisted, “I’ll be here, and I’ll make sure everyone treats you nicely!”

Averell sniffled, “Promise?”

“Sure!” she said brightly,” When you finish your chores you can help me redecorate my quarters! I will also need a few paintings and maybe a sculpture or two, and I can think of no one better to do that than you Averell!”

Averell immediately cheered up and yanked her into a tight hug.

“Aw thank you Miss Betty! You won’t regret it!”

Miss Betty felt her heartrate speed up and her living room suddenly felt very warm. His skin had a faint scent of the infirmary’s wound disinfectant and his breath of sugary tea was a comforting combination.

“That’s a very ugly picture you’ve got there!” his voice vibrated against her chest.

Not completely separating from him, Miss Betty glanced back and saw he was talking about a painting that Mr. Peabody gave to her on her birthday, of a lake that looked very pitiful and desolate.

“I agree, it’s quite ghastly,” she said nonchalantly.

“I could paint you prettier one if you want a lake. It’ll have trees and birds and will look like an oasis in a desert!”

“Would you do that for me?” she asked, looking up at him.

“Of course Miss Betty, anything for you – oh!”

As he turned his head to address her, he found himself nose to nose with her. He froze in surprise, unsure of how to continue. He did not yelp or push her away, which she took as a good sign.

Miss Betty wasn’t exactly quite sure how it happened, who leaned in or made the first move, but she found her lips locked with Averell’s and her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that it seemed like an orchestra was accompanying them.

He was the one to pull away and both of their faces identically reddened.

“I’m sorry Averell, I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable!”

“It’s alright, Miss Betty, I’m fine with it! It’s just that Joe said he would kill me if he found me doing anything with you.”

“Now why would he have a problem with that when he was perfectly fine with your brothers making their moves on me?”

“Joe’s mighty jealous because you’ve always been so nice to me. You remember how Joe slapped William when he got praise from you in class?”

She remembered all right. Joe always had a strange sort of fascination with her, to the point that he physically threatened his brothers to never attempt to seduce her. Whenever any of the younger brothers attempted any type of sweet talk, they would be smacked back into line by their oldest brother.

“Well Joe’s not here now, is he?” she said with a crafty smile.

Averell looked confused at what she was insinuating and then he visibly relaxed. Miss Betty leaned into him and pulled his hands on her waist.

“Now, where were we?” she asked, tilting for a kiss.

Averell did not need to be told twice. He scooped her up, and she let out a small shriek of delight, and carried her off to the bedroom.

They rolled about on her bed in a fit of giggles, their clothes discarded on random pieces of furniture and the floor. When she flung an arm over his waist, he winced and then she remembered that he still had injuries from the events earlier that day.

“I’m sorry Averell, I completely forgot! Moving around much won’t do you any good.”

Averell seemed to ponder for a moment, and then he said, “Maybe you could do the moving, Miss Betty?”

“Whatever do you – oh!” she gasped as he shifted beneath her and pulled her on top.

Miss Betty found herself embarrassed once again, feeling very exposed and unusual. Usually it was the men who were expected to take charge, and as a lady she did not know how to start or if she even dared do anything.

“Any time you’re ready!”

“You seem to have some experience with this.”

“When you live with my brothers you see everything!”

Of course, highwaymen such as the Daltons probably visited saloons and other places of ill repute when they were free, which should not have come as to any surprise to her. At that moment she was glad she made them all use –

“Condoms!” she exclaimed.

A quick trip to the living room to the medicine box and back, and she was in the same position that sha had stopped. By now, she had gotten more comfortable with herself, and even her partner seemed to give her an encouraging smile.

Then she started. Mff, it all felt very different. Not only was she not used doing all the work, but the size difference as well made her breath come out in pants. Averell was patient and when he suddenly thrust into her, an electricity of pleasure shot up her spine.

He did it, again and again, that she folded over his chest and kissed him passionately.

His arms embraced her and in that moment everything felt right. His hands gently stroked her back like how he moulded clay in her ceramics class, while the jerk of his hips said otherwise. Each thrust made her whimper, while every kiss and brush of his hand through her hair made her more relaxed.

The confidence, the power, the enjoyment was all getting to her head, creating a powerful aphrodisiac that made her –

“Averell!” she cried out, going rigid and uncontrollable digging her nails into his chest. In all that haze, she heard him whimper while holding her tight, and knew he was finished as well.

She raised her head, gave him a peck on the lips and rolled off him. They spent a few minutes catching their breath until Averell announced that he was hungry.

“I don’t have any more cookies to give you, besides, you should be getting back to your cell.”

Averell snuggled his face into her pillow. A muffled “Do I have to?” emerged.

“The guards will notice that you are gone, and I am not supposed to let you sleep in my quarters. Can you imagine what everyone will say?”

A light snoring vibrated through the pillow and she realised he had fallen asleep. She didn’t have the heart to wake him, and she considered giving the guards an excuse the next day of how she made Averell work the entire night on cleaning up. But she would still be expected to inform the guards of such a decision, as they would need to check up on her occasionally.

Miss Betty looked out of the window. Perhaps the guards would not be so strict when it came to Averell, for he was considered harmless, and without the influence of his brothers, he was a model inmate. They never seemed to pay much attention to him whenever he was off on his own in the prison yard. Besides, it would have been cruel to send him off to that dark cell all on his own.

Miss Betty looked more attentively at the windows of the prison cells. The Daltons’ cell was on the second floor, four windows to the right of the window to the main staircase. She counted again. Sure enough, that was their cell.

So why was there a light on at this moment?

Just as she was about to shout for Averell to wake up, the light disappeared. This did not extinguish a growing sense of dread.

“Averell!” she said hurriedly, shaking his shoulder, “Wake up! I think there was someone in your cell!”

Averell stretched and opened his eyes blearily. “Is it time for breakfast already?”

Miss Betty shook her head, and whispered, “There is – or was – someone in your cell, but it can’t be the guards, they don’t do random checks on empty cells like that!”

Averell’s eyes grew round, and then his face burst into a large grin.

“It’s my brothers! They’ve come back for me!”

“But how could they – the wall!“

A chunk of the fortress’ wall was still missing, which left the penitentiary’s security with a serious chink in its armour. The penitentiary had only a fixed number of guards, and they had to patrol the standing walls, the yard and even the corridors of the main building. Even a simple change in the patrol shift for guarding the broken part of the wall would take a couple of minutes, which would be enough someone to sneak in. A certain someone who was capable of observing the guards’ movements patiently and for a prolonged period of time. This sounded exactly like something the Daltons would do.

“Put your clothes on, now!”

She started scooping up her clothes and putting them on, with Averell following her pace. There was an urgency to the situation, neither of them really knowing what could happen but sensing they would be facing trouble.

A scratch and a high-pitched whine at the entrance door to her apartment. A bark, and then the sound of something entering the keyhole and turning the lock. Miss Betty and Averell had just entered the living room when the door swung open.

“Joe!” Averell practically squealed with delight.

“Averell! What are you doing here?” yelled Joe, “We looked for you in the infirmary, in the cell, and finally we had to get this stupid dog to find you!”

Rintindumb, having found his favourite Dalton, bounced up into Averell’s arms and wagged his tail excitedly. To him, it was all just a big game of hide-and-seek.

“I was in the infirmary, but Miss Betty told me I could come over so I can clean up the mess that the explosion caused!”

“Oh, is that so?” said Joe, his voice lowering into a growl, “And you haven’t been doing anything else? We all know how accommodating Miss Betty can be.”

No faster than the words came out, Joe received a powerful slap from Miss Betty. Rintindumb yelped in surprise, jumped out of Averell’s arms and scarpered away.

“How dare you!” she yelled, fully aware that the commotion would attract the guards, ”I am not some hussy who lures men into her chambers! Averell cleaned the whole place up!”

“She’s right Joe,” said William, while examining the interior contents of an empty vase, “This whole place looks much nicer than before.” Almost as if to confirm his words, a sparkle blinked on the lacquered coffee table.

“But why didn’t you go back to the cell, Averell?” asked Jack.

“And leave him there all by himself?” exclaimed Miss Betty, “Why, that would be unfair!”

“That’s why you decided it would have been better if he spent the night with you?” spat out Joe.

Miss Betty raised her hand again and this time the three brothers cringed.

“Watch it Joe Dalton!” she threatened, “I have treated your brother as my most welcome guest!”

“She did Joe!” confirmed Averell with an enthusiastic bob of his head,” She gave me tea and cookies, we talked about redecorating the walls, we took our clothes off and went to her bed, and then she let me take a nap when I got really tired- “

Joe, who was fuming, had finally exploded.

“You did what?!” he screeched, leaping on Averell throttling him with his prison shirt collar, “While we were trying to get back in to save you, you and she were – argh!”

Jack and William, who stood wide-eyed in stunned silence as Averell was explaining what he did, snapped out of it and tried to pull Joe off their youngest brother.

“Calm down Joe, your blood pressure will skyrocket!” exclaimed Jack.

“Don’t kill Averell, at least he was doing alright!” added William.

“I can tell how he was doing, alright!” yelled Joe.

“Miss Betty took good care of me, Joe,” said Averell, not realising he was adding fuel to the flames,” and as a gentleman I returned the favour, it took me longer than you did, but in the end she was a completely satisfied customer, just like you said every dame should be!”

Reminding Joe of his own shortcomings when it came to satisfying Miss Betty, the oldest brother formed his hand into a fist, and he punched Averell squarely in the face. Joe Dalton had completely flipped his lid, and the efforts of Jack and William to drag him off Averell were no match for the strength of his fury.

Miss Betty heard the sound of running footsteps in the corridor, and she called outside to the approaching guards, “Over here! The Daltons are back!”

When Joe heard the sound of guns clicking, he immediately ceased his assault on Averell and froze. Jack and William had let go of him and raised their hands above their heads. Even Averell managed to weakly raise his.

“What is all this commotion?” shouted Mr. Peabody, hurrying inside dressed in his nightclothes and matching cap, “Ah, the Dalton brothers! I knew you wouldn’t leave one of yours behind!”

“They came to save me!” despite having received a beating, Averell still sounded overjoyed, “They searched for me everywhere and finally found me!”

“Indeed, but why are you still at Miss Betty’s place? It is rather late, you should have been in your cell by now!”

“Why indeed?” said Joe, his nasty side rearing up, “I wonder what he and Miss Betty had been doing? What does a lonely, pretty lady have to do with a convict so late at night?”

“Averell had just finished cleaning up the mess the Daltons were responsible for creating, as you can see Mr. Peabody,” said Miss Betty, gesturing to a sparkly clean room.

“Oh yes indeed!” exclaimed Mr. Peabody, admiring the room, “And a fine job you did Averell! If you keep this type of behaviour up, you might actually receive a pardon, unlike your brothers!”

“Oh yeah?” snarled Joe, “Well Miss Betty could be actually taking advantage of the prisoners, using them to slake her lust!”

The room went so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

“Joe Dalton,” said Mr. Peabody, a tremor of anger in his voice, “You are making a very serious accusation that can tarnish the reputation of Miss Betty. Apologise to her at once!”

“Ask them!” yelled Joe, pointing at his three brothers who suddenly felt very uncomfortable at being the center of attention, “They will tell you how Miss Betty took advantage of them!”

“I’m dreadfully sorry Miss Betty, but the protocol states I have to investigate such accusations,” said Mr. Peabody, turning to the younger brothers, “Well? Is what Joe Dalton is saying is true? Have you been involved in relations with Miss Betty? Her employment here is currently hanging on a thread and make no mistake – I will issue severe punishments if I suspect that any of you are lying!”

Miss Betty stared at them with desperation, her blue eyes wide and frightened. The three Dalton brothers gave each other anxious glances, and wordlessly seemed to have come up with an agreement.

“Nope, never did anything with her,” said Jack, kicking imaginary lint off the carpet.

“Miss Betty was always kind enough to explain me some chapters for class, but it never went further than that,” said William, crossing his arms.

“And you, Averell?” asked Mr. Peabody.

Averell closed his eyes, and said, “Miss Betty made sure I cleaned the place up properly, and she gave me food and let me get some rest.”

They did not give her away! Miss Betty never thought she would be so grateful and feel a level of respect for the Daltons. What she did was technically illegal, but it seemed that with them the term ‘honour among thieves’ still held true.

“You ninnies!” yelled Joe Dalton, stamping on the floor in fury.

“One more word out of you Joe, and you’ll be sitting isolation for two months!” snapped Mr. Peabody, “Take them back their cell, I will decide on their punishments tomorrow.”

As they were being filed out, Mr. Peabody apologised once again to Miss Betty for all that happened that evening and wished her a good night.

Alone, Miss Betty scratched her head, processing what had happened. Jack, William and Averell turned out to be more honourable than she had expected, though she did get worried at how Joe now seemed to hold a desire for vengeance. She was not sure of how long he held grudges. Judging by his hatred for Lucky Luke, it seemed for an eternity.

His brothers would act as a buffer if he tried to do something that will harm her, but she also decided that she would try to win him on her side again. Perhaps she would talk to Mr. Peabody to reduce the severity of the Daltons’ punishment. The director would let Joe know that Miss Betty vouched for him, and Joe would soften.

Miss Betty went back into her bed and drew the covers up to her chin. In the darkness, she could still smell Averell’s natural scent mixed with those of cookies. Within a week, she had relations with each one of the Dalton brothers. Each one had been different, each experience better than the last. Who was her favourite in the end?

She turned to the side, and a small smirk formed in the shade of the night.

After all, why would she settle for only one brother?

********************

In the darkness of the Daltons’ cell, sleep had not arrived yet.

“What is wrong with all of you?! We had her right on the spot!”

“But Joe, she didn’t tell on any of us! Why should we tell on her? You saw how Peabody was on her side! He could have thought we were lying and then punished us more!” argued Jack.

“Do think she wouldn’t have gone straight to him after she saw all the stuff that was missing?” hissed Joe, “We’re lucky that I took care of it with that apple William gave to her!”

“What does my apple have anything to do with this?” questioned the irritated voice of William from an upper bunk.

“Joe put the shiny liquid on it when you weren’t looking,” said Averell from his lower bunk.

“You used my present to drug her?!” yelled William, poking his head out to glare at Joe.

“You weren’t thinking with that head on your shoulders,” snapped Joe,” Your other head was doing all the thinking!”

“Isn’t that how you do your thinking Joe?” asked Averell, not fully understanding the implication of what he just said.

A sharp slap and an “Ow!” from Averell was heard a moment later.

“Calm down Joe, it’s not so bad!” said Jack from his bunk above Joe’s head, “It’s a better idea to stay on good terms with her. Who knows, maybe she’ll continue returning the favour.”

“And that really won’t be so bad,” agreed William dreamily, as if he was replaying in his mind a special memory involving Miss Betty.

“And we should always protect a lady’s honour!” announced Averell, holding up a finger in the dark that they could barely see, “Because that’s what true gentlemen do!”

Another slap and a yelp from Averell.

The last words anyone heard before falling asleep was Joe muttering: “You bunch of ninnies!”

THE END

_Author’s Note: After writing for almost a week, this is the longest one shot I have written in my fanfiction writing history! As mentioned in the top note, the Dalton brothers in the series seem to be attracted to Miss Betty (with Joe and William being very obvious with their affections in several episodes), however they are not above using her kind-hearted nature to their advantage. I did get tired of continuously referring to her as ‘Miss Betty’ but since that what all the characters call her, it didn’t feel right calling her just ‘Betty’._

_While I am aware this is not the way to create plastic explosives, I would kindly ask the readers to have some suspension of disbelief, which we also apply when watching the animated series. After all, the Daltons had managed to extract nitro-glycerine from soap in some episodes, so this can also be seen in the same stretch. The main purpose of the story was to entertain, which I hope it did well._


End file.
